Hocking Hills, near Athens in southeastern Ohio, has plenty to offer for winter sightseers and hikers. / Dick Martin/CentralOhio.com

Written by

Dick Martin

CentralOhio.com

This has been a worse than usual winter, lots of snow, bitter cold temperatures, and precious little sunshine.

It means area outdoorsmen can either sit in front of the TV for long hours munching popcorn, or go with the flow and get out there to enjoy what can’t be changed anyway. And with the economy still down and too many local folks out of a job, one of the least expensive ways to have fun is to go winter camping.

There are several ways to do that.

One is to use your own camping trailer or small motor home and camp in pure comfort. Or, if you don’t have an RV, check with a dealer around the area and see if they’ll rent you one for a few days or a week.

Most have a used unit or two around that they’re happy to realize even a little income from. A second way is to go with something smaller, rented or your own, which means a truck camper, poptop, or whatever. It’s still, reasonable comfort.

A third way, and only for the hardy, is to camp in a tent. It isn’t as bad as one might think — the Boy and Girl Scouts do it all the time.

You’ll need warm clothes and a first class sleeping bag for this choice, but it can be fun. Picture staggering out of your tent in early morning, stirring up the campfire, or lighting the stove, and warming your hands while coffee perks, and ham and eggs begin to perfume the air.

Tthere are lots of places to go in winter and that equals lots of things to do. For example, assuming the ice is firm and thick, you might camp beside a fine little farm pond, fish as long as you wish, clean your catch, and have it sizzling in a skillet only minutes after the filleting knife has done its work.

Or, stay in a campground near a much larger lake and do much the same. There’s still rabbit hunting until Feb. 28, ideal times to do a little hiking with a weapon if snow is available.

If the wife and kids would like to go along, or several friends, there are plenty of winter sports waiting.

Using a campground like Mohican State Park as a base, take the group over to Snow Trails or Clear Fork for downhill skiing and snowboarding. Or drive to Malabar Farm for some cross country skiing. There’s ice skating too, given good ice, and many campgrounds have simple climb up and slide down hill sledding and skiing.

We have lots of state parks, and some private campgrounds have hiking trails, which can be beautiful in winter. A hike along these will bring the roses to your cheeks, and make a thermos of hot chocolate taste even better than usual.

If there’s a classic place to go winter hiking, it’s Hocking Hills State Park. A good campground is waiting along with miles of usually well snowed trails that offer frozen waterfalls, yard long icicles, beautiful scenery, and half frozen creeks.

It’s worth a visit, and costs will be low.

Most of the state parks in Ohio have campgrounds that are open in winter, but many do have limited facilities at this time for obvious reasons. A few still have heated showers, but many don’t, and camp stores are usually closed as are dump stations.

For information on these along with directions and winter facilities Google “Winter Camping at Ohio State Parks.”

The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District’s five lake parks are open in winter too and for these just Google “Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District Camping.”

Also, many private campgrounds are open in winter, with information and locations waiting on the web at “The Ohio Campground Owners Association.”

Even if facilities are limited, it doesn’t hurt to get grungy for a few days, and it’s lots of fun to try winter sports, then hurry “home” for hot dogs over a crackling campfire and coffee to warm the heart. It’s time to skip the TV and enjoy what can’t be changed anyway.

Dick Martin is a retired Shelby biology teacher who has written an outdoor column for more than 20 years. He can be reached at richmart@neo.rr.com.